Slocum Spray Owners group Some basic questions

[Kip Otteson]

Hello. I just joined this group and I have a couple of questions
about the Spray design in particular. I have recently been in the
islands of Thailand and I found a boatyard that can make me a cheap
wooden boat to order. The way they do this is make a boat to length
and beam specified in about 10 days. The don't use hard wood. They
use a cheaper alternative although you can get one out of hardwood.
The boat can then be taken to another smaller island and then
modified. I can have a keel added, deck, mast, etc. My question is
this...should a boat like Spray be built from the keel up, like Slocum
did it? I know this might be a dumb question, but the cost of the
boat is so low I'm very motivated to try this.

I have lived aboard a 35 foot cutter in the Puget Sound in the 90s and
now live in Thailand. I have added two kids to my family and we would
like to have a boat in Thailand where we can cruise the islands and
learn to sail with the kids. I have always been intrigued by a
wooden, gaff-rigged boat but the dream has been just that. I'm
nearing a time when this dream can be a reality and am fascinated by
Slocum's story and design.

Is there a good place on the internet where I can get basic plans for
free? The 700 + dollar for plans thing is a little steep for me. And
I don't know if the boat yard can work from super detailed plans.

Thanks and sorry if this is such a ramble but I'm just starting to
form a plan in my head.

Kip Otteson
Chiang Mai, Thailand


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[Bob Fantozzi]

Hi Kip,

 

You need to check out some old boats built out of that wood to see how well it lasts.

Ideally look for boat of the same size and displacement as the one you want to build.how big are you thinking?

Spray's are heavy displacement,need a decent height mast and that means a lot of stresses .

how do they build ? is it plank and caulk or epoxy ? if its the latter then the wood type is less critical but still needs to be strong enough  to stop  the boat from flexing, twisting, etc plus It has to hold together and must not be easily punctured.

Also the strenght of the wood will have a bearing on how thick it has to be for a given vessel size. Simple test is to set a plank over two sturdy supports then add weight until it fractures.

If you can find out the wood species it would be a good start

You can build it either way but keel down means that you dont have to roll it over.

I would think carefully about the gaff rig! Looks real good but a cow to handle without a good pair of extra hands. you cant beat the tall marconi slop rig -  full batten main with twin head sails.

I dont know where you can get free plans other than the slocums book ,

where you can get the lines then scale according to the size you want

 

Bob

The spray Gratis